CULTURE

komi: the undiscovered russia

By Joseph James Crescente III

Special to The St. Petersburg Times

Eric Bruns / For The St. Petersburg Times A WWII monument commemorating "daughter, mother and grandmother."

The fate of a foreigner living in Russia is frequently attached to one of the two big cities: Moscow or St. Petersburg. But secretly everyone seems to be looking for an escape, a place untouched, free of foreigners and the hustle of the big cities. Someplace markedly less cosmopolitan and more Russian. We came to Russia, after all, to experience "Russia," and life in the twin capitals these days looks less and less different from home.

Recently, I visited with a friend the city of Syktyvkar, the capital of the Republic of Komi. Most foreigners have never heard of it. Most Russians have never heard of it and when they have, they know very little about it, except for the fact that they have no desire to go there. Many will gasp. Some will question their friendship with you. These and other reasons make Syktyvkar an attractive place to visit.

Syktyvkar was formerly known as Ust Sisolska, which translates roughly to the "Mouth of Exile." Founded in the 16th century, it was the largest village in the region in the late 1920s when the Soviets began building a gulag system known as Ukhtpechlag, which ran from Kotlas in the southwest to Vorkuta in the northeast at the top of the Ural mountains. The city gained its current name in 1930, around the time that prisoners were designing and constructing this new city.

The gulag no longer exists and nobody's forcing you to visit this pleasant provincial city of around 225,000 people. It is accessible by Aeroflot from Moscow three times daily, and St. Petersburg once a day. One way fares from both cities hover around $100-$120. However, the budget and adventure traveler will spring for the super platskart open sleeping car train deal. Leaving from St. Petersburg three times a week, a one way ticket to Syktyvkar knocked us back only 460 rubles ($16) for the 38 hour journey through the taiga. We traveled alongside young army guys fresh on leave and pensioners.

There are few cities along the way from St. Petersburg. However, there is a three-hour stop in Kotlas, a sleepy town west of Syktyvkar. Walking through Kotlas is taking a walk through time, when the place to go was the House of Culture, and to get milk you had to line up early in the morning and wait for the trucks to arrive. There is one hotel, with a cafe opposite the train station. To set the record straight, the army guys seemed to have great luck with the local ladies.

You arrive in Syktyvkar at night if you have taken the train from St. Petersburg. The station lies at the western - that is the "Western" - end of town. Hail a taxi to a hotel. Fifty rubles should get you anywhere. One option is the Hotel Yugor at 2, Ulitsa Gorkogo. It's on the corner of Ulitsa Kirova. A double room with two beds and a balcony overlooking a park costs 760 rubles ($26) a night. It has a bar, restaurant and sauna. Other options include the Hotel Syktyvkar, near the train station on the city's largest street, Kommunisticheskaya, at number 67, or the Hotel Tsentralnaya at 83, Ulitsa Pervomaiskaya. A modern 24-hour supermarket can be found directly next to the latter hotel.

The first thing a visitor will notice is that all signs in the city are written in two different languages, Russian and Komi. They look nearly identical and Komi also uses Cyrillic, with a few extra characters. One of the pleasures of being in Syktyvkar is that it is a compact city. It is difficult to think of another place in the world where the airport is a 10-minute walk from downtown.

The first place to visit is "the square." Sure, there are several squares in the city, but everyone refers to Ploshchad Lenina as "the square." On the square is a large statue of Lenin, a few ATMs, at least two internet halls, the main post office, and the philharmonic theater. The philharmonic seemed to be keeping a full schedule, featuring everything from chamber music and acrobatics, to orchestras composed of Russian national instruments, a beauty contest and the touring Fabrika Zvyozd ("Star Factory") talent competition. The square has a small monument recognizing Komi's autonomy since 1921. Those people we spoke to didn't seem too worried about the proposed upcoming administrative merger with the Perm region. They seemed to believe it would be beneficial. The merger plan was passed by referendum last year and takes effect at the end of 2005.

Moving west from the square on Ulitsa Kommunisticheskaya you will hit Dom Byta, a Russian shopping mall with everything from electronics and CDs to beauty products and clothes. A note to fans of piracy: don't come to Syktyvkar in the hope of buying cheap counterfeit music. The city seems to be at the forefront of the anti-piracy movement in Russia. There were several propagandistic billboards displayed around the city denouncing piracy, and cassettes and CDs were noticeably more expensive and legitimate than elsewhere in Russia.

If you see a place to eat, well, you should probably eat there. Syktyvkar is for Russians, not tourists, and Russians tend not to eat out so much. However, just outside Dom Byta is an excellent pizza tent, serving pizzas and beer. Also located on the pavilion outside is a shaverma (kebab) stand, serving the world's first "mini-shaverma." For those wishing to sample traditional Komi dishes, which are mostly fish based, check out the Spasky Restaurant at 24 Sovietskaya Ulita. Apart from these, there are the hotel restaurants, a few stolovayas (cafeterias), and the occasional bistro.

Across from Dom Byta, you will find the stadium, which features a sports bar and fitness club. Walking up the hill, you will come across the World War II memorial, featuring massive "Motherland" statues, an eternal flame, engravings of officers enlisted from the area and the lists of the dead. The memorial is located on what once was the war commissars building where soldiers left for the front. Continuing up Kommunisticheskaya, a Dom Knigi, the bookstore so named in every Russian city, can be found. This one is worth a visit for two reasons. The first is that it features a pet shop and there are birds flying throughout the store. Second, this house of books features the largest selection of Russian pop star calendars and posters that has ever been spotted. Further up is the state theater of opera and ballet.

Being the capital of an ethnic republic, Syktyvkar hosts a number of museums. The most interesting is the National Gallery at 44 Ulitsa Kirova, featuring a sculpture park in the surrounding gardens. Other options include the Komi National History Museum at 28 Lenina Ulitsa, and the museum of Komi writer Kiratov at 10 Ordzhonikidze Ulitsa. No dual pricing system for foreigners exists here.

Nightlife abounds in Syktyvkar. The recommended choices include Relax inside the Hotel Syktyvkar, which features dancing, bowling, billiards and occasional concerts by groups such as Ruki Vverkh, a video cafe and dance club at 14/1 Ulitsa Dimitrova, and the local youth hotspot, Gorod, at 214 Tentyukovskaya Ulitsa.

Drinking alcohol on the street is forbidden and punishable by a 300 ruble ($10) fine. But of course, like most Russian cities, open containers are a common site. However, this law intimidates people from drinking too much on the street and public drunkenness is rare.

We weren't the only tourists in town on our recent visit. There was a group of Italian tourists staying in our hotel. Things are looking brighter for this isolated hamlet since Komi leader Vladimir Torlopov was elected three years ago. Industry is booming, a rail link to Arkangelsk is planned, and a 5-star hotel is being constructed in the center. Things are changing daily. Now is the time to visit.

Syktyvkar is an ideal stop for those continuing on to the gulag sites farther north, or those wishing to continue into Siberia. To link up with the Trans-Siberian railroad, catch a bus south to Kirov. There are three buses a day leaving from the bus station which is adjacent to the airport. It is about an 8 hour ride through a very undeveloped and rustic stretch of Russia. The train station in Kirov is about a five minute walk from the bus station, and from there you can travel as far as Vladivostok or Beijing.

Population:

Approximately 1.25 million people live in the Republic of Komi, representing more than 70 different ethnic groups. Russians comprise the largest population group at 58 percent, followed by the indigenous Komi people (23 percent). Other groups include Ukrainians (8 percent), Belarussians (2 percent) and Tatars (2 percent).

Languages:

There are two official languages in the Republic: Komi, which belongs to the Finno-Ugric group of languages, and Russian. Nearly 75 percent of Komi people speak Komi.

source: unpo

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